Device for the germination and drying of malt

ABSTRACT

A device for the germination and drying of malt charged onto the radially outer portion of an annular rotating rack and gradually shifted radially inwardly by means of rotary worm means extending radially across said annular rack and being suspended by threaded spindles for movement downwardly and upwardly between charge and discharge openings in an outer wall surrounding said annular rack.

Unite States atent r1 1 Schlimme et a1.

[ 1 Mar. 12, 1974 DEVICE/FOR THE GERMINATION AND DRYING OF MALTInventors: Gisbert Schlimme, Braunschweig;

Manfred Tschirner, Wolfenbuttcl, both of Germany Miag Muhlenbau Undlndustrie GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany Filed; Dec. 8, 1972 Appl. No.:313,422

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 15, 1971 Germany 2162167 US. Cl.99/277.2 Int. Cl Cl2g 3/00 Field of Search 99/276, 277, 277.1, 277.2,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 568,132 9/1896 Feroe 99/2772,758,030 8/1956 Metz 99/278 3,583,875 6/1971 Wiesenauer. 3,589,270

6/1971 Schlimme 99/277.2

Primary Examiner-Robert W. Jenkins Attorney, Agent, or FirmHill,Sherman, Meroni, Gross & Simpson 57 ABSTRACT A device for thegermination and drying of malt charged onto the radially outer portionof an annular rotating rack and gradually shifted radially inwardly bymeans of rotary worm means extending radially across said annular rackand being suspended by threaded spindles for movement downwardly andupwardly between charge and discharge openings in an outer wallsurrounding said annular rack.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1" 18 [1 l L5 .1- 1 11. LJ

DEVICE FOR THE GERMINATION AND DRYING OF MALT The invention relates to adevice for the germination and drying of malt, consisting of a pluralityof annularly shaped rotatable racks disposed superimposed about acentral compartment with work chambers containing worms for shifting ofmaterial, and having adjacent to the latter side compartments in whichare located the feed and discharge conduits for the material.

A material shifting worm is portrayed therewith which is movablevertically by means of threaded or worm-gear spindles whereby thespindles are located outside of the annularly shaped rack chamber. Thecovering of these spindles against the rack chamber which are to beconstructed movably involve appreciable difficulties because they mustbe slidable along the charge on the rack.

These disadvantages are according to the invention overcome thereby thatthe threaded spindles, by means of which the material shifting worm ismovable upwardly and downwardly between charge and discharge-apertureslocated in the wall, are suspendedand indeed, particularly by means ofgear units which are fixed on the ceiling of the top chamber of therack. The material shifting worm is arranged in a manner known per seunder a bearing member which constitutes the connection with the rackchamber and serves as central member for the entire material wormdevice.

The invention will be described in greater detail'on the basis of anembodiment by way of example which is shown in the drawing inthefollowing:

IN THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 shows a vertical radial section through a static malthouseconsisting of a plurality of annular rack chambers arrangedsuperimposed, according to section I I ofFlG. 2;

FIG. 2 shows a horizontal cross section through the device according toFIG. 1, in accordance with section IlIl.

FIG. 3 shows a vertical section transversely through the materialshiftingworm, according to section lllIIl of FIG. 1.

The right-hand part of an annularly shaped rack chamber shown in FIG. 1is limited by the inner cylinder wall 1 which surrounds the centralcompartment 7, by the outer cylinder wall 2, as well as by the roof 3 ofthe top chamber 12 of the rack and by the floor 3" of the lower chamber11 of the rack. Both rack chambers are separated by the annularly shapedrack 13 which is without walls and is movable rotatably on projections1' and 2 of the cylinder walls by means of their wheels 13, 13" aboutthe axis (not shown) of the central compartment 7.

Above the annularly shaped rack 13 is arranged the material shiftingworm 14 which extends radially between the inner cylinder wall 1 and theouter cylinder wall 2 and extends onto the same. The material shiftingworm 14 is held freely rotatable in its position by two bearings 15,which are fixed by means of bearing arms 15', 15" on the carrier 16constructed as box beam. On thelatter are also fixed two threadedspindles 17 which are each suspended by means ofa gear 18 on the ceiling3' of the top chamber 12 of the rack. The drive gear 18 contains in amanner known per se (not shown) a worm gear guided rotatably in thehousing and constructed as nut for the threaded spindles 17, said wormgear each being capable of being rotated by a worm seated on the shaft19, whereby the motor 20 arranged outside of the rack chamber serves asdrive. The threaded spindles 17 upon lifting the material shifting worm14, move into the lower chamber 11 of the rack disposed thereaboveare,however, protected against undesirable influences by means of theprotective Sleeves 17'.

On the inner left end of the carrier 16 is located the drive motor 21which is connected by means of a tension medium 21' shown in dash-dottedlines, with the shaft 14 of the material shifting worm 14. At the otherend of the carrier 16 is arranged a guide plate 22 which has sufficientspacing from the outer cylinder wall 2 in order to deflect downwardlythe material entering from the feed aperture 5.

The carrier 16 has in addition at each end a pair of arms 23 extendingupwardly which are connected with one another by means of a plate 24. Inthe latter are supported four wheels 25, of which two each are arrangedabove and two each adjacent one another. The wheels travel between rails26 which are fixed on brackets 27 of the cylinder walls 1, 2 and in theceilings 3 of the top chambers 12 of the racks.

Finally, there is additionally fixed on the carrier 16 an essentiallyvertical grading plate 28 which may be constructed as a box and mayterminate in a blower nozzle 28 (FIG. '3). The box-shaped grading plate28 possesses an opening 28 at the top, to which may be fastened a fan orblower (not shown).

Adjacent the rack chambers 11, 12 arranged superimposed is mounted avertical side-compartment 6 which contains a down-pipe 8 for thematerial to be charged and discharged. In the down-pipe is located anY-pipe 9 provided with a reversible flap 9, the inclined part of saidY-pipe being connected with the feed aperture 5 in the outer cylinderwall 2. Somewhat below the feed aperture 5 is provided on the outercylinder wall 2 the discharge aperture 10. It may be closed by means ofa flap 4 which may be shifted on a curved tooth rack 4' by means of amotor pinion or drive 4 into the dash-dotted position. The flap 4 swingsinto a discharge channel 29 which is connected with the down-pipe 8.

The motor 20 for the shaft 19 may be disposed (also not shown) betweenthe two drives 18 and fastened on the ceiling 3. The transport means 23,24 and 25 of the carrier 16 may also be replaced by a slide mechanism.With smaller embodiments, the transport mechanism 23 to 25 may indeed beomitted altogether, when the spindles 17 and their guide members areconstructed sufficiently resistant to bending. The modus operandi of theinstallation shown will be described hereinafter.

Prior to the charging of the rack, the material shifting worm 14 will bebrought to a predetermined position as to height, thereby that the motor20 is turned on and the shaft 19 driven, whereby the worm-wheel nutslocated in the drives 18 are rotated and the material shifting worm 14is raised. Then the reversible flap 9 of the Y-pipe 9 is brought intothe position shown in FIG. 1 and material permitted to run in whichtravels through the feed aperture 5 against the conducting plate 22 ofthe carrier 16 and is deflected downwardly. The material then forms aheap below the outer end of the material shifting worm 14. Before saidheap reaches the material shifting worm 14, it is set in rotation bymeans of turning on the drive motor 21, whereby the further materialarriving is conveyed off toward the center. If a wall of material hasformed which reaches to the inner cylinder wall 1, if need be by meansof a pushbutton, the annular rack 13 and simultaneously also the laterreversing worms, not shown, are set in rotation. The reversing worms, ifFIG. 3 is considered, are mounted to the left of the material shiftingworm 14, and the annular rack 13 moves counter to the direction of thearrow 30. If the annular rack 13 has covered a determined angle or ifthe pushbutton is released, the rack is held stationary and thereversing worm stopped and the charging procedure goes one step further,as predescribed. This procedure is continued stepwise or successively upto complete loading of the annular rack 13. The reversing worms, notshown, take care of the equalization and loosening or aeration of thematerial which has not yet been evened by the grading plate 28.Thereupon, the reversible valve flap 9 is brought into the verticalposition and the treatment provided may take place on the annular rack13, for example, drying.

If the annular rack is to be unloaded or cleared, the discharge aperture10 is opened by means of setting the valve flap 4 inclined in thedash-dotted position, the material shifting worm 14 is turned on andlowered for a predetermined amount, the annular rack 13 is set in motionin direction of the arrow 30 (FIG. 3), and the reversing worm, notshown, turned on. The material will then continuously be conveyed offthrough the discharge channel 29 into the down-pipe. The loweringprocedure is repeated once or twice until the material shifting worm 14is located a few millimeters above the annular rack 13. In the laststage of the clearing, air is blown in through the aperture 28 into thehollow grading plate 28 and passes out through its blower nozzle 28'against the movement of the rack, whereby residual grains blown to thematerial shifting worm 14 are grasped by the same and likewise clearedout. In this manner, not only is a complete clearing out of the rackpossible without manual effort, but also its cleaning. The valve 4 isthen closed again and the rack is ready for the next processingprocedure.

In the case of too heavy a load, the down-pipe 8 may be divided into twopipes, of which the one serves solely for the charging and the othersolely for the discharging. The drive of the annular rack is not shownfor reasons of facility of inspection. It may, however, take place, forexample, by means of three drive motors which project into the sidecompartment or are accessible from there and cooperate with a gear rackon the annular rack. Naturally also other types of drive may beutilized, for example, hydraulic drives.

What we claim is:

1. Device for the germination and drying of malt, comprising a pluralityof annular racks mounted for rotation about a central shaft, workchambers in said racks, material shifting worms in said work chambers,side shafts disposed at the outside of said work chambers, feed anddischarge conduits in said outside shafts and connectible with chargeand discharge apertures in the outside walls of said work chambers, andthreaded spindles supporting said material shifting worms from theceiling of the work chambers and adapted for moving said materialshifting worms upwardly and downwardly between said charge and dischargeapertures.

2. Device according to claim 1, in which the threaded spindles aresuspended above drive means on the ceiling of a top chamber of the rack.

3. Device according to claim 1, in which the material shifting worms aresuspended from a carrier, such as a box beam which is fixed on thethreaded spindles.

4. Device according to claim 3, in which said carrier at one endsupports a drive motor for the material shift ing worms.

5. Device according to claim 3, in which bearing arms for said materialshifting worms are secured to said carrier.

6. Device according to claim 3, including a drive or slide mechanism incooperation with guide means for the vertical movement of the materialshifting worms.

7. Device according to claim 3, including a grading plate supported bysaid carrier and constructed as a box terminating in a blower nozzlewhich is directed along the material shifting worm.

1. Device for the germination and drying of malt, comprising a pluralityof annular racks mounted for rotation about a central shaft, workchambers in said racks, material shifting worms in said work chambers,side shafts disposed at the outside of said work chambers, feed anddischarge conduits in said outside shafts and connectible with chargeand discharge apertures in the outside walls of said work chambers, andthreaded spindles supporting said material shifting worms from theceiling of the work chambers and adapted for moving said materialshifting worms upwardly and downwardly between said charge and dischargeapertures.
 2. Device according to claim 1, in which the threadedspindles are suspended above drive means on the ceiling of a top chamberof the rack.
 3. Device according to claim 1, in which the materialshifting worms are suspended from a carrier, such as a box beam which isfixed on the threaded spindles.
 4. Device according to claim 3, in whichsaid carrier at one end supports a drive motor for the material shiftingworms.
 5. Device according to claim 3, in which bearing arms for saidmaterial shifting worms are secured to said carrier.
 6. Device accordingto claim 3, including a drive or slide mechanism in cooperation withguide means for the vertical movement of the material shifting worms. 7.Device according to claim 3, including a grading plate supported by saidcarrier and cOnstructed as a box terminating in a blower nozzle which isdirected along the material shifting worm.